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NOTICE
This opinion is subject to further editing and modification. The final version will appear in the bound volume of the official reports.

Nos.

94-1898, 94-2024 : IN SUPREME COURT

STATE OF WISCONSIN State of Wisconsin, Petitioner-Appellant, v. William Carpenter, Respondent-Respondent.

FILED
DEC 8, 1995
Marilyn L. Graves Clerk of Supreme Court Madison, WI

State of Wisconsin, Petitioner-Appellant, v. William A. Schmidt, Respondent-Respondent.

APPEAL from orders of the circuit court for Dane County, Mark A. Frankel, Judge. remanded. Affirmed in part, reversed in part and cause

APPEAL from an order of the circuit court for Sauk Reversed and cause remanded. These cases are before the court on

County, James Evenson, Judge. ANN WALSH BRADLEY, J.

certification by the court of appeals from orders of the Circuit Court for Dane County, Mark A. Frankel, Judge, and the Circuit Court for Sauk County, James Evenson, Judge, holding Wisconsin's

Nos. 94-1898, 94-2024

Sexually Violent Person Commitments statute, Wis. Stat. ch. 980 (1993-94)1 unconstitutional. The respondents in these cases and

the companion cases2 decided today argue that ch. 980 violates the Equal Protection, Due Process, Double Jeopardy, and Ex Post Facto Clauses of the Wisconsin and United States Constitutions. We

conclude in this opinion that ch. 980 creates a civil commitment procedure primarily intended to protect the public and to provide concentrated treatment to convicted sexually violent persons, not to punish the sexual offender. Therefore, we hold that ch. 980

does not violate either the Ex Post Facto or the Double Jeopardy Clause. Accordingly, we reverse the trial courts' orders

determining that ch. 980 is unconstitutional on these grounds and remand for further proceedings consistent with ch. 980. We also

affirm the trial court's order in Carpenter finding probable cause that he is a sexually violent person. This opinion is limited to the question of whether ch. 980 violates the Double Jeopardy or Ex Post Facto Clauses of the Wisconsin and United States Constitutions. Our determination of

the due process and equal protection issues is set forth in the companion cases. See State v. Post, No. 94-2356 and State v.

Oldakowski, No. 94-2357 (S. Ct. Dec. 8, 1995). All future statutory references are to the 1993-94 volume unless otherwise indicated. See State v. Post, No. 94-2356 and State v. Oldakowski, No. 94-2357 (S. Ct. Dec. 8, 1995). 2
2 1

Nos. 94-1898, 94-2024

We begin with a brief overview of the statute.3

Chapter 980

provides for the involuntary commitment of certain individuals who are found to be sexually violent persons. Section 980.01(7)

defines a "sexually violent person" in part as "a person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense . . . and who is dangerous because he or she suffers from a mental disorder that makes it substantially probable that the person will engage in acts of sexual violence." When a petition is filed alleging that a person is sexually violent, the court must review the petition to determine whether to issue an order detaining the person and must hold a hearing to determine whether there is probable cause to believe that the person named in the petition is sexually violent.

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Wisconsin Law